The field of invention relates to devices for holding catheters which are implanted into a patient and extend externally from an arm.
Patients, such as those suffering from cancer, are often sent home from hospitals with the need for continued administration of intravenous drugs. One common technique for administering such drugs is to have a peripheral inserted central catheter (PICC) implanted in a vein and extending through an incision in the patient's upper arm. The drugs are administered by injection into the catheter from which they are drawn into the vein of the patient.
Because the catheter is inaccessible to the hand on the arm having the catheter, the patient is unable to perform the operations of flushing the catheter and administering the drugs without the assistance of another person. Thus, the patient is confronted with the need for home nursing or help from other individuals in administering the drugs in this manner.
It is therefore desirable to provide a mechanism that will assist the patient in administering the drugs with only the hand on the arm which does not have the catheter.